KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson stood in the locker room after another disappointment. Another home loss to a struggling team.

Denver, auditioning former first- round draft pick Tim Tebow as its starting quarterback, gave the Chiefs plenty of chances to get their fifth victory Sunday. The Broncos' top two running backs, Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno, left with injuries, pushing Lance Ball into the lineup and leading to the youngster's career day.

Yes, Johnson said, this 17-10 loss might sting for a while.

"We let one slip away," Johnson said. "And that's hard. In the NFL, you can't let none slip away, because winning is hard every week. I don't care who you play; you've got to win whenever you get a chance to. Losing two home games, this game hurts more than the last, I think."

Last week, the Chiefs appeared to take the winless Dolphins lightly, and Miami spanked the Chiefs 31-3. Maybe that would be a wake-up call, and the team would eliminate the mistakes and lethargy it showed a week earlier.

Instead, the Chiefs knew what kind of offense Denver would run, and they still couldn't stop it. Tebow attempted only eight passes, and though he completed only two of them, one was a 56-yard touchdown to Eric Decker.

"They just out-executed us," cornerback Javier Arenas said. "That's all that happened. Can't say they wanted it more. I mean, I don't know what happened, man."

Still, players were left Sunday to search for answers.

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"This is very frustrating," Arenas said, "because you're in a good position. Leading up into the game, you've got a good scheme against a guy like Tebow. There's no one to blame. It's just us as a unit. We didn't pull it through."

McGahee injured his hamstring, and Moreno suffered a knee injury, combining for 69 yards rushing before leaving the game. Ball and Tebow kept running and kept running, underscoring the Chiefs' inability to stop what they knew was coming.

Before these last two losses, the Chiefs had a chance to enter the next five games, a difficult stretch against playoff contenders, with a 6-3 record. Now, unless the Chiefs can steal one more against New England, Pittsburgh, Chicago, the New York Jets or Green Bay, a 4-10 record is looming.

Johnson shook his head Sunday at what the defense had allowed to happen. He said players would have to regroup — fast.

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